Andrew Heath
Spencer T. Olin Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry
- Phone: 314-286-2208
- Email: aheath@nospam.wustl.edu
Additional Titles & Roles
- Professor of Genetics
- Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences
Education & Training
- Ph.D.: University of Oxford, 1983
- B.A.: University of Oxford, 1979
Major Awards
- RSA Distinguished Investigator Award, 2003
Areas of Clinical Interest
Research only
Research Interests
Behavioral and psychiatric genetics, genetic epidemiology, particularly focusing on the interplay of genetic and environmental risk factors in the etiology of substance use disorder, eating disorder and obesity, and childhood emotional and behavioral disorders. Gene-mapping studies of substance use disorders. Prospective high-risk studies of pre-adolescent twins and adolescent twins/siblings and their families, and of twin pairs and their adolescent children. Studies of the gut microbiome in human obesity and metabolic dysfunction.
Formulation of models, development and implementation of methods of data analysis, and data collection to resolve the joint contributions of genetic and environmental risk factors, and their covariation and interaction, to risk of psychiatric disorder, and to behavioral variation. Dissection of genetic and non-genetic causes for the familial aggregation of risk.
Recent Publications
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Mapping the genetic landscape across 14 psychiatric disorders
Nicotine Dependence GenOmics (iNDiGO) Consortium, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Tourette Syndrome Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Substance Use Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Anxiety Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Autism Spectrum Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Bipolar Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Eating Disorders Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium & Major Depressive Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Jan 8 2026, In: Nature. 649, 8096, p. 406-415 10 p.
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Identifying Sociodemographic Community Variables and High School Characteristics Predictive of Subsequent College Alcohol Consumption: Integrating Self-Report, Census, and School Administrative Data
Wood, P. K., Heath, A. C. & Sher, K. J., 2026, In: Substance Use and Misuse. 61, 8, p. 1230-1238 9 p.
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Shared genetic architecture of posttraumatic stress disorder with cardiovascular imaging, risk, and diagnoses
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, Dec 2025, In: Nature communications. 16, 1, 5631.
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Polygenic and developmental profiles of autism differ by age at diagnosis
APEX Consortium, iPSYCH Autism Consortium & PGC-PTSD Consortium, Oct 30 2025, In: Nature. 646, 8087, p. 1146-1155 10 p.
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Multi-ancestral genome-wide association study of clinically defined nicotine dependence reveals strong genetic correlations with other substance use disorders and health-related traits
Johnson, E. C., Lai, D., Balbona, J. V., Miller, A. P., Hatoum, A. S., Deak, J. D., Jennings, M., Baranger, D. A. A., Galimberti, M., Sanichwankul, K., Thorgeirsson, T., Colbert, S. M. C., Adhikari, K., Docherty, A. R., Degenhardt, L., Edwards, T., Fox, L., Giannelis, A., Jeffries, P. W. & Korhonen, T. & 47 others, , Aug 20 2025, In: Psychological medicine. 55, e234.